The Curse of Hatred
by sintary
Summary: All he wanted was his revenge. He had no hopes for the future, no dreams to live out; nothing other than his quest for justice. He had little control over his hatred though. He had no idea that it was caused by something much larger than his brother; that it was a curse from his ancestor. He hadn't cared about any of that though; until one innocently curious elf changed his focus.


**Hey guys! So, this was another rp that went super well a while back. I had been sitting on this since February and since _Dear Itachi_ is a bit stalled at the moment, I decided to finish this chapter and get it out there! So, basically this will have a bit of fantasy to it; Sintary being an elf! Most of it will be from Sasuke's POV though because, well, this is about his emotional journey! It is rated M because we are dealing with Orochimaru, and he is a very... sick character. **

**Hope you guys enjoy!**

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He had been in this boring dungeon of a place for two years almost. Two years of constantly training; constantly growing stronger, growing bitter, growing his hatred. He was growing restless; so much so, he wasn't sleeping through the nights. His terrors were coming in full fury each time he closed his eyes.

He was tired.

Tired of waiting.

Tired of bearing this burden.

Tired of his pain.

But he also recognized that he couldn't just give up. He needed to keep going. He needed to get even stronger. He needed the power; and he could only get it from one person.

But was he tired of this snake breathing down his neck.

He couldn't so much move without his sensei noticing it.

He shook his head at the thought.

Sensei.

It was such an inaccurate way to describe the person he sought power from. While he was certainly taught, sensei referred to someone the student looked up to – more or less.

That just didn't fit.

If that wasn't the case… what else would?

He effortlessly through a kunai at the wall before him as he thought. His dark eyes closing as he folded his hands in front of his face as they rested on his katana.

He was constantly doing the bidding of the elder man. He took whatever mission or task was assigned to him without question. He trained relentlessly. He killed mercilessly and without remorse. The older man commanded, and he responded.

He gripped his sword tightly.

Master.

That was an accurate word for the powerful shinobi. He was a man that demanded everything. He had minions – _pawns_ – to do his bidding. He had eyes and ears everywhere. The smallest foul up resulted in death. He had no patience for screw ups or insubordination. The man commanded fear in everyone under him – his slaves.

His eyes shot open as his eyes bled red as his jaw clenched.

He _was not_ a slave to that bastard. Such an idea was beneath him.

He was an Uchiha, and the Uchiha did not bow before anyone. People bowed down to him; never the way around.

"Sasuke –"

He swung his sword angrily at the imp that decided to disturb him. His katana was met with chakra infused blades which stopped the younger man from chopping off the other man's head.

"Testy today, aren't we?" The slightly older man said looking down at him.

Sasuke looked at him. The man was his sensei's (he refused to say master) right hand man. A silver headed shinobi with a strong affinity for medical ninjutsu. He was almost as cunning and deceiving as the snake himself. His loyalty though, was absolutely disgusting.

"What do you want, Kabuto?" Sasuke asked plainly, removing his katana from his neck.

"He wants to see you in the great room." The other man said pushing up his iconic glasses.

"Hn." Sasuke sounded distastefully as he started to walk past him.

The dark-haired shinobi headed out of the training room he had previously been in. He sheathed his katana behind him. His left arm rested in his open tunic like his father before him. His loose hand gripped into a fist as the memory flitted across his mind.

His father. The man whose attention he always tried to obtain, but never could… not until his brother started acting strange.

The fist gripped even tighter as he thought about his brother.

That piece of scum killed his family, and then had the sadistic audacity to show his younger brother it in perfect detail on a never-ending loop using Tsukuyomi – a genjutsu unique to certain Uchiha clan members.

He is the reason Sasuke found himself in this dungeon with a snake.

He is the reason Sasuke wasn't sleeping anymore.

He is the reason Sasuke found himself down a path of destruction and murderous intent.

He had killed their family – father, mother, cousins, aunts, uncles, everyone… everyone, but him.

 _'_ _Why me?'_ Sasuke had asked him.

" _There is no value in killing the likes of you, my foolish brother. If you want to kill me someday: curse me, hate me, and live a long and unsightly life. Run away. Run away, and cling to your pitiful life. And then some day, when you have the same eyes as I do, come for me."_

Sasuke's body lit up in blue, violent strings of light as he slammed his fist into the wall, shaking the compound in anger.

That had been his brother's response.

He hadn't been worth killing.

That's why he had been allowed to live.

His brother also instructed Sasuke to foster his hatred.

And that's exactly what he had done. He had let this evil – this darkness – grow in his heart like an infestation; and it was killing him. He could feel it. Killing his brother would take all energy; all his strength; all of _him_. It would probably kill him; and if it didn't, he was only a shell of his former self, and even then, there hadn't been much there.

Sasuke had given up everything else for his revenge.

He had become a slave to it.

The dark-haired shinobi felt his shoulders fall slightly and his _Chidori_ vanish at the realization.

He wasn't a slave to the snake. He was chained to his revenge – to the power he was constantly promised; to the idea that one day his family would be avenged, and his brother's wrongs would be righted. However, being chained to something made a person weak. He couldn't have any chains when he faced Itachi. This was one strain he couldn't break from; it was all he had. What he _did_ need to part from, though, was this serpentine leash that was suffocating him.

Sasuke lifted his chin and retracted his hand from the crater in the wall. He placed it back on top of his purple, rope-like, _obi_ , and continued walking. He soon came in front of two doors with a white snake painted on each panel. The doors slowly creaked open for him, and he walked into the den.

"Hello, Ssassuke," 'master,' Orochimaru, hissed.

The Uchiha didn't answer as he stared at the man. He was one of the Legendary Sannin with an affinity for serpents and a passion to obtain power and immortality at any costs. He, too, was from the Village Hidden in the Leaf – Sasuke's origin. He, too, defected from the village because it was holding him back. Orochimaru rose his own village from nothing. His name struck fear into the hearts of others like poison from a snake.

This was the only shinobi who would be able to advance Sasuke to his goal – at any cost. But, of course, not without payment. Along with doing whatever Orochimaru demanded, Sasuke had also agreed to become his next vessel after his revenge was complete. Not that the Uchiha anticipated on complying because he could very well be dead when it all ended. It had been an empty promise on his head; not that he cared.

The onyx eyed shinobi stared blankly at the snake in front of him. "What do you want, Orochimaru? I'm busy." He stated rudely

"I have a mission for you." He started watching his pupil. "I need you to collect something very important for me."

Sasuke sighed internally, his face remaining void of emotion. "Are you going to give me any more information other than that?"

"It's a rare creature; an elf." Orochimaru told him smiling with amusement as if he had just told a joke.

"An elf?" Great, the snake was really going mad. "They don't exist."

Kabuto smirked, having been standing next to his master. "Oh, but they do, just rarely in this dimension."

Sasuke could feel his interest starting to develop slightly. "I'm listening."

The imp pushed up his glasses. "The legends go that elves lived here millions of years ago, long before shinobi. They lived in peace with most humans and animals, but always one with nature. They were both mystical and mischievous as elves were known to be. They tried to be the mediators for peace, but many of the villages at the time were always squabbling. When it became apparent that war would always been consistent, the elves took to the mountains, hiding away in their forest village. They stayed there for centuries, being healers and wise men to the humans on the ground. The elves showered those who came to them in happiness and peace, believing it was most beneficial for the individuals. Then," Kabuto paused, "came the God Tree. Rumors are that these celestial beings, the Otsutsuki, went world to world cultivating this tree, eating its fruit – which contained chakra. The elves of Earth knew nothing about the tree or its fruits, but had felt an unnaturalness to it. They warned the people to stay away and often tried to tear it down. Their efforts were futile though; the tree was virtually indestructible.

One morning, the elves woke to a disturbance in nature. They quickly headed down the mountains to the humans to see what was going on. They were greeted with a pale creature with lavender eyes. The humans knew neither how she got there nor what her purpose was. They merely knew her as emperor's, Tenji's, concubine. The elves' benevolent nature led them to try and befriend the creature, who was named Kaguya. However, the more they spent time in her presence, the wearier they got. It wasn't until Kaguya ate the Chakra Fruit that they made a stand against her. The front didn't last long though because she became revered as a goddess for stopping the wars. The people began to depend on her instead of the elves – even when they became enslaved. The group gathered to make a joint attack against this "Rabbit Princess." They came down from the mountains in full flurry, manipulating the ways of nature against her; but she easily deflected their attacks. Her powers with the Chakra Fruit were unmatched. Still, the elves tried to free the humans. It was all in vain though. Kaguya had found out one of the elves' weaknesses: silver. She had loyal humans creature several swords with silver laced along the blades. Elves were known for their rapid healing abilities; however, the metal slowed this process down. A wound would normally heal in seconds depending on the severity. With silver, the wound took three times as long. For years after, the elves lived on the defense from these human elf hunters.

Finally, the goddess delivered two children into this world. As they grow, it was the elves who helped their chakra usage grow by combining their spiritual practices. With the elves' guidance, the two children took down their mother what became known as the Six Paths – Chibaku Tensei. The humans were freed of their confinements, and elves could begin healing the world. Peace did not last long though. Wars broke out again, but with heightened intensity with the development of chakra. Again, the elves worked as healers and tried to restore order. The humans began to feel the creatures were becoming a nuisance, but those loyal to Kaguya remembered the silver. They went after the elves as a scare tactic, to keep them in their place. Combat took place between the chakra being and the spiritual one, and blood was shed. A blood-thirsty human was said to licked the elf's blood from his sword, and his wounds were healed and he was stronger and healthier than before it. In the chaos of all the battle, warriors went to grab elves to force healings and lengthen their lives. A clan of a hundred slowly started to dwindle as the wars carried on. Only one known elf survives today."

Sasuke stared blankly at the silver-haired shinobi before looking at the snake. "So, you want me to bring the elf to you?"

Orochimaru smile darkly at his pupil. He was such a quick study. "If you would be so kind."

"Where do I look?"


End file.
